We departed Jerusalem on the Sabbath, heading north on a two hour drive to the fortress city of Megiddo, situated on the ancient Via Maris. This highway was once the economic expressway between Egypt, Damascus and Babylon. Megiddo was conquered by Joshua and later became one of King Solomon's chariot cities (1 Kings 9:15-19). Fields of wheat (the city's bread basket) stretch out in front of the fortress, the paddocks lined with the golden yellow of mustard plants. After passing through the city gates and arriving at the summit we could see in one 'Scriptural sweep' Mounts Gilboa, Tabor and Carmel, Nazareth, the Lower Galilee and the plain of Armageddon. We learned from Deuteronomy 17, 1 Kings 9-11 and Psalm 20 how chariots, concubines and gold carat led Solomon into covenant failure. A 2700 BCE child sacrificial altar dedicated to the god Molech has been excavated here, the same altar Solomon set up on the Mount of Olives. The city's water source was a tunnel built by the brilliant King Ahab to enable his people to bring water in from outside the city walls even when besieged by enemies. We travelled on to Nazareth, a town of only 500 people in the time of Christ but now populated by 70 000 mainly Arab Israelis. Jesus lived the majority of his earthly life here. The threat from Archelaus had sent his family north after returning from Egypt and the nearby Roman city of Sepphoris provided Joseph with work. In Nazareth Village we learned that Joseph and Jesus were more than carpenters. They were tektons - tradesman skilled in building, particularly in the use of stone. We continued on through Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle, and headed for our final destination of the day, Tiberias. To our left rose the hill called the "Horns of Hatim' where, on July 4 1187, Saladin's Muslim forces came from Damascus and defeated the Crusaders. This decisive battle was the beginning of the end of European Christian control of Canaan. We crossed a ridge and saw before us the Sea of Galilee - 22km long and 12km wide - sitting in a beautiful basin of blue. After a day of visiting fortresses and fields where military battles have raged for millennia, the sight of this lake was a reminder that the Lord who made this land his home, who walked on water and calmed the sea has, through his passion and resurrection, taken his great power 'and he will reign for ever and ever.' (Revelation 11:15).